Championing Thought

Honors College Founder Ed Henderson Retires

Photo by Stewart Humble

When he’s
not hanging around Highland Coffees with his “rolling office,” you might find Professor
Ed Henderson fishing for speckled trout, listening to old-time country music,
or relaxing with his family. But most
likely, you’ll find him reading or writing philosophy.

“I read
philosophy by compulsion; I can’t not
read it,” he said. “Because the questions — I can’t let them go. I realize that
I’m not going to figure everything out, which is what philosophers think they’re
going to do when they begin … At some point along the way, you realize it’s not
going to happen. But then you still enjoy thinking about these things.”

Henderson,
who studies the philosophy of religion, received his Ph.D. from Tulane and then
taught at a small college in Missouri for a few years before heading to LSU.

The Alabama
native and former Honors College Associate Dean was one of the founders of the
Honors Division in the fall of 1967, a program offering small sections of Great
Books and Western Civilization courses for academically talented students through
the College of Arts and Sciences.

Over the
course of the years, Henderson would remain closely involved with the program,
and the seed that he helped to plant in the sixties would eventually become the
LSU Honors College.

“Naturally,
faculty enjoy teaching bright students … [and] we had an interest in trying to
have at least some of our teaching load devoted to students who were capable
and interested in small classes that allowed for interaction and discussion,”
he said.

Alongside
the then Philosophy Chair Charles Bigger and English Professors Emeritus Jack
Gilbert and Herbert Rothschild in the English department, Henderson helped to
grow the program considerably by expanding it to include other colleges in the
early ‘80s.

“Billy Seay
became the director then; he played poker with Chancellor J.H. Wharton, and
that’s how he persuaded him to give a little more support [to the Honors
program],” Henderson said, laughing.

Henderson,
who has been teaching an HNRS course on C.S. Lewis and the Oxford Christians
for the past ten years, said that his experience teaching in the Honors College
has allowed him to grow as a thinker and has been one of the highlights of his
teaching career.

“It’s not as
though you learn everything while you’re in school and then you teach it. It’s
not that way at all,” he said. “You keep learning. By teaching, you get to broaden yourself, expand
yourself, keep learning … You learn from students — especially in areas like
philosophy and the interdisciplinary courses in Honors — because you discuss
these works together.”

After
retirement, Henderson plans to spend his days reading and writing philosophy to
stave off “intellectual myopia” and spending time with his wife and family, whom
he refers to as “the source of whatever stability and wisdom I have.”

“We will
miss Ed’s presence in the Honors College and his ability to teach his students
about the important values of integrity, compassion, and intellectual
curiosity,” said Honors College Dean Nancy L. Clark. “And I’ll also miss a
great friend who set a high standard of leadership.”